Roses and Thorns
by We Are The Stuff Of Legends
Summary: Takes place 3 years after Broken Hearts and Promises. Now in her 4th year, Lily Potter wants nothing more than a boyfriend. There's a new guy but everyone's suspicious. As they delve deeper, everyone starts to get hunted down, one by one. Lily/ Lysander
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Here Come the Heroes

"Oh my god, look! It's Lily Potter!" someone whispered as the4th year black haired Potter girl walked into the Great Hall. Her red highlights shimmered in the candlelight as she confidently strode over to the Gryffindor Table as she was commonly known as the 'single girl with spunk'

"It's Al and Shannon, and ah! It's James Potter," a girl sighed dreamily. "7th year and still managing to look so hot!" Al, the ebony haired 6th year middle Potter child, pushed up his glasses with one hand while the other grasped onto the hand of blonde haired Shannon Crawley as they whispered to each other and made their way to the Ravenclaw table.

"Yikes, don't let Elizabeth Wood hear you, or she'll tear your limbs inside out!" the other person hissed back. 7th year James Potter, the bad boy of Hogwarts strode in with a soft smile graced on his gorgeous face. His chocolate pools shining as his untidy hair was ruffled by his best friend, and girlfriend Elizabeth Wood, daughter of the famous Quiditch players Oliver and Katie Wood. Elizabeth's long black hair was pinned back into a half ponytail that bounced up and down every time James whispered something to her. Her auburn eyes analyzed their surroundings, and the 'it' couple of Hogwarts was greeted by a hoard of hearty hellos and welcomes.

"Oh my god...here comes Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy!" Rose Weasley, the daughter of the famous Hermione and Ron Weasley, had flaming orange hair that had tamed down over the years. She proudly strode in with her Prefect badge, all traces of her childhood shyness gone, while smiling gently at everyone she passed. Her eyes were shining as she was discussing something with her long time boyfriend Scorpius Malfoy, the other Ravenclaw Prefect. Scorpius was the son of Draco Malfoy, the well known former Death Eater and rival of Harry Potter. He was also one of the most famous Slytherin...after You-Know-Who of course. Scorpius had inherited his father and grandfather's strict and cold look, but inherited his mother's smarts. His blonde hair was slightly untidy and he rolled his eyes at all the girls looking at him. The two of them made their way to the Ravenclaw table along with Al, Shannon, Aaron Wood, and Hugo Weasley.

Lily sighed as she saw that most of her cousins, including Dominique, Victoire, Fred, Roxanne, Louis, Lucy and Molly had all long gone and started their own careers, the most recent being Fred and Roxanne and their father and uncle's joke shop being handed down to them. Lily felt stupid and alone as she saw her two brothers with girls, her cousin with a boyfriend and half of the other people she didn't know who were silently chatting about someone they had. Lily rolled her eyes and scoffed.

_If I've lived 14 years alone, I can live another year,_ she darkly thought, but smiled nonetheless as Simone Wood came to sit next to her. Simone was Elizabeth's younger sister and the twin sister of Aaron. She still had some of Elizabeth's old spunkiness and was like a little replica of her. Simone wanted to be different so she cut her hair into a u-shape cut and dyed the fringes of her hair pink. She had front bangs that were always straightened and made her look dark and scary, when she wanted to be of course.

"Lily! I haven't seen you for ages!" she exclaimed and Lily rolled her eyes. Simone was _extremely_ overdramatic.

"We saw each other a week ago!" she laughed at her best friend's face.

"But that was like, FOREVER ago!" she whined but stopped as Headmistress Longbottom made the traditional speech and the food appeared on the table. The two girls started to pile up their plates and talk to each other. Lily looked at Simone.

"You know...I heard James was looking for a _ring_," she winked at Simone. Simone looked confused for a moment.

"Why would James...OH!" she squealed and everyone looked at her. She flashed a smile then looked back at Lily.

"Oh my god, no way! Elizabeth would freak if she found out!" she whispered.

"If I found out what?" a voice dripped with suspicion laughed nonchalantly (if that makes any sense). The two girls jumped as they saw Elizabeth looming over them with her arms crossed, her eyebrows raised and her foot tapping slowly. Lily smiled brightly.

"Found out that James is waiting for you and is looking very impatient!" Lily quickly came up with some random excuse. Elizabeth turned around but when she turned back, the two girls had already abandoned the topic. She rolled her eyes and walked over to her boyfriend. Lily and Simone looked up.

"Yeesh, that was close..." Simone muttered and Lily nodded in agreement. Suddenly the bell rang and people started to get up. The two girls met up with their other best friends, Lysander and Lorcan Scamander, sons of Luna and Rolf Scamander. Both boys had blonde hair though Lorcan's hair was more dirty blonde while Lysander's was a more pure blonde, like Scorpius. The 4 were amazing friends even though Lysander was in his 5th year.

"Hey guys!" Lily smiled at her two best guy friends. Lysander waved a two finger hello (if you've ever watched Pokemon, it's the way Drew does it) and Lorcan waving enthusiastically.

"Trying out for the Quiditch team again this year Lil?" Lysander smiled and Lily mock gasped.

"I am _shocked_ you would ask me that!" she giggled and Simone rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, well I'm not...Elizabeth is still bloody mad at James cause he's Quiditch captain." she grumbled as Lorcan looked sympathetically at her.

"How mad?" he dared to ask.

"Well...it started with the letter, then James sent an owl to her and then she broke her mirror...she's better since James apologized and made her co-captain...but she's much, _much _better now that she can actually see him," Simone whispered the last part but the three heard her and laughed. Nowadays, it seemed like the two were latched together, though Elizabeth was starting to take an interest in potions and transfiguration. But it was understandable after James and Elizabeth hadn't seen each other the whole summer.

"I heard that James is going to take Elizabeth to the summer villa in this wizard beach resort," Lily sighed. "It sounds really romantic," Lysander gazed at Lily. That was another thing. Lily was a hopeless romantic. She loved anything that had any relevance to romance including picnics, candlelight dinners, roses, and midnight strolls. Though in spite of that, she was extremely hard to impress. He had learned that the hard way.

"Ly?" Lily poked him, using the annoying nickname she gave him. Lysander snapped out of his reverie and glared at Simone and his little brother who were had grins bigger than the Cheshire Cat smile. Suddenly Lily stopped and they all bumped into her.

"Lily?" Simone asked, but Lily seemed frozen. At first, Lysander thought, it was the sight of James and Elizabeth snogging, but after a second, he realized that she was used to it. He then turned his attention to the boy a few feet behind them, leaning against the wall. He was amazingly good looking, with super pasty pale skin and shining cobalt eyes. His eyes were dark, smoky, and dangerous looking. He held a rose in one hand and his long hazelnut hair fell over his eyes, creating a shadow. His body was lean and fit and he looked extremely athletic. Lysander glanced at Lily's face and grimaced.

Her azure eyes were glimmering and her face had taken on an unusual shade of pink. She tried speaking but all that came out were croaks. Lysander clenched his fists and looked down. Simone was also looking at the strange boy, though not in infatuation, but in fright. Lorcan put a questioning hand on her shoulder but she shook her head. Lysander poked Lily.

"Lily, you're staring," he whispered and Lily squeaked. The boy looked up and smirked. Lily blushed and smiled back. She turned to the others.

"Let's go," she bit her lip while peering over her shoulder. Simone, Lorcan, and Lysander literally had to drag her away.

"Oh my god, who was that?" Lily breathed once the guys had left the common room. They were all placed in the same House. Simone looked at Lily, her humored eyes unusually serious.

"I don't know Lil, but he seems dangerous! Scary even...did you see the way he looked at you?" she looked intently at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes.

"He's probably a new student! Maybe he's trying to make new friends," Lily offered but Simone wildly shook her head.

"You know, as well as I do, that that idea is _totally_ ludicrous!" she snapped back. Lily sighed and Simone frowned. "At least get to know him better before making assumptions," she compromised and Lily nodded.

"Obviously Simi. I wasn't going to do anything _that_ rash," Lily rolled her eyes at her friend's warning. "Oh! I've got to finish unpacking! Help me?" she pouted and Simone rolled her eyes.

"Fine..." she finally grumbled after Lily started whining.

"Did you see that new guy?" Lysander hissed and Lorcan apathetically nodded. His head was currently buried in his Care For Magical Creatures book and he really could care less about what his older brother was saying. "And Lily was totally looking at him!" Lorcan finally understood what was going on. Lysander was jealous. He had this massive crush on the youngest Potter girl and it was excruciatingly apparent.

From the corner of the room where they were snogging, James looked up when he heard Lysander's latter statement. "Who does Lily like?" he growled and Lysander stopped his rant and looked up. James Potter, Lily's eldest brother, was extremely overprotective of his little sister. It was no doubt that James would start interrogating anyone who knew anything about his sister's love life. James got up and walked over to the two boys, a whining Elizabeth in tow.

Lorcan looked up. "Some new guy in Hogwarts. He's already got Lily infatuated," he said in the same dreamy tone he inherited from his mother. "Have you ever ridden a hippogriff?" he randomly asked and the other three looked at him strangely.

"Er...no?" James asked. "And who exactly is this _new guy_?" Elizabeth groaned.

"James, seriously. Stop being so overprotective of Lily. She's 14 years old and fully capable of making her own decisions! You haven't even met this guy...besides, we got together in 4th year too," she raised her eyebrows at him and he sighed.

"But you _know_ Lily! She'll go for anyone she meets. Remember Jessie?" he argued and Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Learned he was a player," she retaliated in a calm tone.

"What about Collin, Oliver, Christopher or Michael?" he shot back. Elizabeth sighed.

"All puppy crushes," she said exasperatedly.

"But what about-" James began but Elizabeth cut him off.

"James, give it up. Now let the other boys talk," she interjected and turned to them, her auburn eyes giving silent authority for them to speak. Lysander put his finger to his chin and tried to recall everything he learned about the guy.

"Hmm...fairly tall guy, hazelnut brown hair. Lean and fit definitely, with pasty skin and the guy looks pretty athletic. Dark cobalt eyes transferred here from somewhere unknown. His parents are both wizards and he's currently in his 5th year," James folded his arms and Lysander looked down, knowing James wouldn't like the last piece of information. "And he's in Slytherin," he concluded and James started to turn a dangerous shade of red.

"He's in _Slytherin_?" James growled and started rave. Elizabeth's face contorted to an expression of panic as she tried to calm James down.

"Merlin's pants Jamey! Bloody calm down!" she gasped as he gently pushed her away and started pacing.

"That no good, Parseltongue speaking..." James was ranting and Lysander interjected.

"We're her best friends James. You know we'll protect her," he said quietly and James stopped, breathing heavily. Elizabeth grabbed his shoulders and was whispering something that calmed him down.

"Just please...don't let her get hurt," he groaned, collapsing on the couch. Elizabeth placed her arms around his shoulder.

"Come on James, let's go schedule Quiditch try-outs," she pleaded and James allowed himself to be dragged to the other side of the room.

_Oh my god, it's him!_ Lily thought and she saw the new guy walk into her Defense of the Dark Arts. Lily had been placed in an advanced class that only a few 4th years were allowed in, and the majority were 5th years. It just so happened that Lysander, Lorcan, and Simone were in this class. Suddenly, Lily heard rattling in her desk and she opened it up and rose her eyebrows when she saw a Bogart. Some of the girls screamed as it kept morphing into different people in her family and were dead. Lily's heart stopped, but nonetheless, she screamed "_Riddikulus!"_ and the bogart exploded. Lily looked behind her and saw some snickering 5th years and rolled her eyes.

"Ha ha, very funny you lot," she sneered and turned back around. Professor Brawly walked in and noticed her desk. He looked around and saw the still laughing 5th years.

"You lot, detention tonight! Am I clear?" he barked and the students immediately stopped laughing.

"Yes sir," they mumbled and he glared at them.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you," he barked and they sat up wide-eyed.

"Yes sir!" they saluted and he nodded giving a small smile towards Lily.

As class proceeded, it was apparent that he had chosen Lily as one of his favorite students. Though it was partially because she knew many of the things he was teaching. She answered most of the questions correctly and had already gotten into a few debates with the teacher. Professor Brawly seemed strict towards everyone else but not as strict as he was to the troublemakers. He seemed to have picked them out one by one just by looking at them. Today's lesson was on bogarts and their history and usage. Some of the children were dozing off while Lily, who was seated in the front of the classroom, added comments and asked way too many questions. It just so happened that she was next to the new guy. The bell finally rang and all the students stood up, relieved.

Lily was putting her stuff in her satchel when she heard a voice. "Hey, you ask too many questions," his voice rumbled with laughter and Lily turned red.

"I-I like these sort of things. M-my father t-taught me a lot of this stuff," she smiled, her usual cool composure slipping. The boy smiled and her heart nearly stopped.

"You're the daughter of Harry Potter, am I right?" he asked and Lily nodded.

"Yup! I'm the youngest, Lily," she smiled and stuck out her hand. The boy smiled faintly and grasped her hand and kissed it.

"Luke Sanguisuga," he breathed and Lily blushed. She noticed their hands together and quickly snatched her hand away.

"Well, Luke, I'm going to be late for class. I'll see you later," she smiled brightly and ran away, in a rush to get to her next class.

Lily entered Potions class a minute before the bell. She sat next to Simone who was looking at her questioningly.

"What took you so long?" she asked as Lily was still trying to catch her breath.

"I was talking to the new guy. He says his name is Luke," she smiled as Simone's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"And nothing else happened?" she prodded Lily who looked at her in annoyance.

"No Simone, nothing else happened," she whispered but couldn't say anymore since the bell had rung and the teacher entered the class.

After all of classes and dinner, Lily trudged up to her room, but was shocked to see a beautiful red rose on her bed. She picked it up and sniffed it while slowly stroking the petals. Her fingers felt something smooth and she opened her eyes to see a little paper stuck onto the rose. She gently put the rose down and snatched the paper.

_Dear my beautiful Lily,_

_It was such a pleasure meeting you. Let's talk some more tomorrow in the courtyard during break._

_~Luke_

"Where'd you get that rose?" Simone asked while walking in and Lily quickly folded and pocketed the note.

"Dunno, found it on my bed," she shrugged and placed it on the windowsill. The moonlight shimmered down on it, giving it a silver glow that caught Lily's breath. It was beautiful, just like Luke.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys -nervous chuckles then ducks down to avoid furious mob- No, I'm not dead...just busy, with high school work. Trust me, it's really, really annoying. I was stupid enough to take all honors classes and look where that landed me...in big fat hell, that's where! I have so many god damn quizzes, tests, projects, and shit, that I can barely keep up. That, and I'm pretty much failing math and bio (not literally):P anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter cause I really worked hard on this one. I already have the next one written so when you guys review, I'll post it! I tried to incorporate as much James and Elizabeth as I could, mostly for my enjoyment, since you all know that I absolutely adore them :) Anyway, enough of my insistent rambling...let's get on with the chapter!**

**p**.**s: keep watch for the remake of The Lonely Girl Next Door**

**~xxRoseOfDeathxx

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Chapter 2: Getting To Know You**

The next morning, Lily woke up in an exceptionally good mood. Though it was quickly fouled up when she saw Jessie walking towards her. She folded her arms as Simone stood beside her.

"What do you want Jessie?" Lily spat. Jessie looked calm and put on a sexy smirk. Lily laughed harshly. "Don't think you can flirt your way through, you prat," she scoffed and walked away with a laughing Simone.

"You seem like you're in a good mood," Simone nonchalantly commented and Lily looked at her.

"Yup!" she chirped then sobered and looked around. "Ok, promise not to freak out?" she whispered and Simone nodded her head. "Ok, so last night, Luke sent me a rose and asked me to see him during break," she whispered and Simone froze.

"Please tell me you didn't say yes!" she pleaded and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Simone! Honestly, I'll have my wand with me and all of the 5th year watching me! Nothing can possibly go wrong!" she sighed exasperatedly and Simone glared at her.

"Fine...but James won't be happy about this," she scoffed and walked away, leaving Lily looking down. Elizabeth came over and looked at Lily.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly and Lily looked up.

"Simone's mad at me because I'm going to see Luke during the 5th year break period," she confessed and Elizabeth inhaled sharply.

"Are you sure you want to take it that fast? she asked and Lily screeched in annoyance.

"It's a bloody meeting! He just wants to bloody get to know me! It's not like we're going to snog!" she snapped and walked away, leaving a worry and dismayed Elizabeth behind. Elizabeth was too busy staring off into space to hear the footsteps approaching her. Someone prodded her.

"Lizzie?" Elizabeth whirled around to face James and his concerned face. She sighed and buried her face in his chest and he worriedly stroked her hair. "Elizabeth, what's wrong? You were in a good mood a few minutes ago," he asked as she sighed and her warm breath tickled his neck.

"It's Lily. She...she's going to see Luke during 5th year break but I'm worried. I think that she's going too fast," Elizabeth confessed and James stiffened but continued to hug the girl. "I mean...I don't mind her seeing this guy, but...meeting his during break? I mean, isn't that just a little too fast?" James sighed and placed his chin on the top of her cranium.

"We all know I'm going to play overprotective brother. But it's true that she maybe is going too fast for my liking, even if I wasn't her brother. Should we do something?" he asked and Elizabeth reluctantly detached herself from her long-term boyfriend.

"No...I suppose we'll get Lysander, Al, Rose, and Scorp to look after her. I know that the 6th years have breaks along with the 5th years, so that works out. And Rose will no doubt want to patrol the place if we tell her what's going on. And Scorp will no doubt be with her at all times," Elizabeth replied and James smiled looking down. "Hey," Elizabeth whispered, lifting his chin up with her pointer finger. "She's going to be ok," she whispered before pecking his lips and pulling away. "Now come on, we'll be late to class," Elizabeth giggled as James pecked her cheek then grabbed her hand and pulled her along to class.

Meanwhile, 4th year Lily Potter was walking on the fields that were currently occupied by the fifth and sixth years. She eagerly looked around and immediately saw Lysander studying for his OWLS. He looked up and saw her and smiled and Lily immediately smiled back. She felt her heart beat speed up and saw Luke sitting by a tree reading while twirling a blood red rose. His cobalt orbs were mysterious and he wore a small smirk on his face. Lily blushed and walked towards him only to be dismayed at the fact that there were tons of fifth year girls surrounding him. Luke spotted Lily and beckoned his hand at her and she obliged, gripping her books tighter than usual. All the girls seemed to be glaring at her, but otherwise left her alone because of her status at the school. She reached the attractive brunette boy and situated herself under the tree he was currently under.

"Hello, Luke," she whispered breathlessly as he turned towards her with a charming smile graced upon his face. His traditional Slytherin robes were on and his legs that were covered with black pants were folded neatly. Lily, on the other hand, was in her Gryffindor robes and had the uniformly black short skirt that was normal for school. She was sprawled out and somewhat close to Luke but had enough space for people to see that they weren't involved in any way whatsoever. The wind blew through his hazelnut hair and Lily felt the blood make her way up to her cheeks.

"Hello Lily. I see you received my note?" he asked and Lily meekly nodded and looked down. "So, please, tell me about yourself." Lily gaped at his bluntness then nodded.

"Well, I'm the youngest daughter of Harry and Ginny Potter. We live in a quaint house and I have two siblings: James, who's in his seventh year, and Al, who's in his sixth year. Then there's me; I'm in my fourth year but I'm placed in all advanced classes," Lily added thoughtfully.

"What do you think she's saying?" an orange haired girl whispered and the three blonde boys and one black haired boy shook their head. "Ugh! If only I got better at reading lips," she whisper-wailed in remorse. One of the blonde boys patted her arm.

"Rose, you do you know that there's a bat ear spell, right?" he replied and Rose flushed red. Scorpius took one look at her face and chuckled but stifled it as he noticed her threatening glare. "Sorry, sorry, just making sure that you knew," he grinned once more.

"Of course I knew Scorpius!" she snapped then took out her wand. Lysander, Lorcan, and Al all watched their banter in amusement."Oidus Batum," she murmured and a bat ear appeared on her right ear. Lysander, Lorcan, Scorpius, and Al all preformed the spell. Rose nodded briefly while turning towards the two people they were spying on and tuned in.

"So do you enjoy your crazy life? I mean, I'm sure people only want to be your friend because of your status and your parents," Luke smiled and Lily looked down, letting her hair cover her flushed face.

"Well, that certainly does happen, but I do have some amazing friends. And I know that because in second year, I accidentally performed a truth spell, and for twenty four hours, they couldn't say a lie," Lily laughed and impishly smiled. Luke nodded. Lily turned to him. "This isn't fair; I've told you all about me and you practically knew half of it! Tell me about yourself Luke."

Luke tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, my parents came from Romania; they love to work with the dragons there. I believe they met your uncle, Charlie," Luke pointedly looked at Lily who nodded enthusiastically. "Mum used to work as a dragon breeder and would try to breed different eggs from different breeds of dragons. Dad was a dragon tamer; he was actually one of the very best there were. Anyway, after an...accident, so to put it, we here, to England, more specifically London. I'm a tad bit new so I don't really know my way around these places." Luke looked at Lily as if suggesting something. Lily noticed this and blushed heavily.

"Hmm, maybe..." Lily trailed off and nearby them Rose grinned at the boys in obvious satisfaction.

"See, I told you she wouldn't fall for his tricks," she grinned. Al grasped Rose's shoulder.

"Just you wait. Any minute now, she's going to fall into his arms and swoon like they do in those movies," he replied and the group of eavesdroppers turned back.

"Well, it looks like your break is ending soon. I'll see you around, ok Luke?" Lily smiled then walked away, leaving Al looking dejected and Rose smirking in obvious triumph over her cousin.

"So, did you hear anything interesting?" James asked as soon as he saw his cousin, brother, and friends walking in. Rose was the first to reach James with Scorpius being dragged along.

"Nothing that interesting. Luke tried to hit on Lily, but she's a smart girl, as I told everyone," Rose seemed to find the need to boast her obvious victory. Elizabeth, who had just arrived in the common room, chuckled as she heard Rose's tone in her last remark.

"No need to boast the victory Rosie," Elizabeth giggled as Rose stuck her tongue out. "But see James? This just proves my point. Lily knows what she's doing, though I do think that we should still keep watch," Elizabeth stated and everyone nodded.

"Watch what?" A girl asked, her voice dripping in suspicion. Elizabeth gulped and turned around only to meet the one and only, Lily Potter, standing behind her, now in front of her, with her arms crossed. Elizabeth started stuttering but James cut her off.

"Don't be shy Elizabeth; it's all right to tell her that we're considering her for the Quiditch team," James laughed a little too loudly. Lily's mouth dropped open.

"You think I'm not good enough?" she gasped and Elizabeth slapped her forehead at her boyfriend's stupidity.

"No, no, I mean, there are others. What James meant to say was how you treated competition and how the competition treats you," she giggled nervously as her eye twitched a little though Lily didn't notice and still looked unconvinced.

"Fine, but if you kick me off the Quiditch team, I'm telling Mum!" she cried and ran to her room. The students waited until she was out of sight until they let out a breathe of relief. Elizabeth shook her head.

"That was way too close," she gasped and the others nodded. Lysander turned to Elizabeth.

"But I'm surprised. I didn't think you could lie so well," he commented and James nodded, sliding his arm around her waist.

"I agree; since when did you get so good at lying?" James laughed and Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "But what should we do about this new kid? Can I beat him up yet?"

"Shut up James. And I told you, we just keep watching the both of them. If you see any suspicious activity, then report back to any of us. Got it? Good," Elizabeth smiled then yawned. "Ugh, I'm going to go take a nap or something. I'm done with my work." She yawned again and detached herself from James and sleepily walked up the stairs.

"Don't let her get hurt!" James cried before running up after his girlfriend. Lysander stretched a little then lounged on the couch.

"So what do you guys want to do?" he asked before picking up his textbook to start his homework. Rose looked at the boys.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm going to go try to get some work in before the NEWTS. See you lot later," she smiled before strolling away with Scorpius on her heels. Lorcan groaned and got up.

"I'll see you later Ly. I've got to go get back to the Ravenclaw common room," Lorcan replied to his brother's questioning look. Lysander had to shake his head before chuckling. Even though Lorcan had been in this school for four years, it was still hard to imagine themselves being in different houses. Lysander was in Gryffindor, for some strange reason, though he liked it, while Lorcan took after his mother and was in Ravenclaw along with Rose, Scorpius, and Al.

"Hey guys!" Simone squealed and Lorcan immediately sat back down. Lysander smirked at his brother's antics. He wasn't the only one with a crush on a fourth year. Lorcan smiled his dreamy like smile and moved over so she could sit down. "Is Lily here?" Simone asked while looking around, her short black hair flying everywhere. Lysander shook his head.

"She's upstairs," he replied before going back to his textbook. Simone scoffed and stood up.

"No, no, she's right here," Lily replied as she slowly walked down the stairs, almost tripping on her sweat pants and she rubbed her eyes in a tired manner. It looked like the youngest Potter girl had just woken up since her hair was sticking up in places, and her usually shiny black hair, which Lysander swore he didn't pay attention to everyday, was a bit duller and looked tangled. Lily made it to the couch and spotted her best guy friend. "Lord, only you would be doing homework at a time like this. How many times have I told you not to procrastinate?" Lysander smiled.

"Doesn't matter because no matter how many times you tell me not to, I'm still going to procrastinate. It's who I am, and I refuse to change!" he declared with a cheeky grin at his somewhat patriotic speech with Lily shaking her head in annoyance and darkly muttering something that sounded like 'smart ass'. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" Lysander suddenly asked and Lily looked at him in mock hurt.

"That hurts Lysander. Oh, and Elizabeth and James were at it again, though this time, it was mostly talking about random things. Then everything got silent and I heard smooching noises and came down here," Lily laughed and Simone fake gagged.

"Blech! Can't wait until those two are married!" Simone and Lily giggled and the two brothers raised their eyebrows. "Oh, Lil told me that James is looking for a ring," Simone squealed and Lysander nodded his head.

"I see. And isn't the summer villa where couples go before getting engaged?" Lysander added and Lily gasped. Simone shook her head.

"Well it's obviously not surprising. Not to me at least. Those two have talked about marriage a lot," Simone rolled her eyes. "But enough about them. How was the date with Luke?" Lily glared at Simone.

"Simi, I told you it wasn't a date!" Lily growled then froze and calmed herself. "But it was...ok. Luke seemed to want to know a lot about me," Lysander looked up.

"Sounds like a potential stalker," he grinned and Lily groaned as she pushed him and he stumbled a little before going back to his original position.

"Shut up and do your homework Scamander," she hmphed and Lysander laughed, his eyes twinkling with the humor that Lily loved. "Besides, Luke seems too sweet to be a stalker...though you never know these days."

"Aye aye, princess," he mock saluted and Lily giggled before settling her head on Simone's lap. Lysander glanced at Lily and noticed how she looked peaceful and quite attractive in just an oversized tee-shirt and sweat pants. Lysander blushed as the thoughts invaded his head.

"But seriously Ly, would it kill you to not waste time? I mean, I know you're studying and all, but do it earlier and sleep earlier too. Isn't that the smarter thing?" Noticing Ly's glare, Lily held her hands up. "I'm not acting like a mother if that's what you're saying. I'm just a girl looking out for her best guy friend," Lily added before snuggling her head on the lap of the girl who had been her best friend for more than five years.

"Mm, I'm tired," she whined and Lily shook her head before getting up. "Yay, let's go to bed." Simone squealed and dragged Lily upstairs. Lysander chuckled at Simone's erratic behavior. As soon as he saw Simone leave, Lorcan got up.

"I'm going to go now too," he announced as he gathered his things. Lorcan turned to see his brother smirking in a I-know-something manner. "What?" Lysander shook his head, the smirk still etched on his face.

"Nothing, nothing, just...funny you would leave right after Simone left," Lysander chortled and Lorcan glared and left out the door. Lysander watched his brother leave and wondered if Lorcan had as much girl trouble as he did. "Good night to you too princess," Lysander muttered to himself before heading upstairs to his room, a certain black haired Potter girl lurking in his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Good news guys! I'm not dead *smiles innocently* Ok, so honestly, I have been stressing out these past few months and I'm so sorry if I haven't updated in a while. I've been trying to write for a while, but unfortunately, school isn't letting me do that. I have biology finals next Tuesday, and then as if THAT'S not enough, I have regular finals coming up soon, and I really need to do well in order to pass school. I might also be taking the subject tests (bio SAT 2s) so I don't know how much time consuming that's going to be. Anyway, school is winding down just a bit, and since I barely have any homework today, I decided to update...so enjoy!  
~Deepika_**

* * *

**Chapter 3-**

Lysander groaned as the god-awful morning rays hit his face. He groggily blinked his eyes into focus and then deadpanned. He had fallen asleep in the common room...again. Even after Lily had told him not to do homework so late and fall asleep, he still did it no matter what. He rubbed his eyes as an amused chuckle was heard and tried to pinpoint the voice. He mumbled something.

"What was that Ly? I couldn't hear you," the voice smirked and Lysander turned over to the darker side of the sofa he was on.

"I said to go away..." he mumbled before a light snore escaped him and Lily giggled cutely and ruffled his air.

"Someone's not a morning person. Alright, I'll leave you to wake up. But meet us downstairs at the Great Hall for breakfast," Lily called, her voice fading as she got farther away. Lysander groaned once more before stretching his sore body and rubbing his neck. Slowly, he made his way up to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face and to shower. His blonde hair was disheveled, but it looked natural so he left it like that. He made his way down the stairs, nearly tripping when they moved, and entered the dining hall where he was greeted by the loud buzz of the energetic people. Shaking his head, he made his way to his, Simone, and Lily's small table, where he proceeded to put his head down and doze off.

"Oh gosh, did Lysander fall asleep in the common room again?" Simone giggled at her friend's antics and Lily nodded, giggles escaping from her lips as well. Lysander let out a slight snore and Lily shook her head.

"Good morning everyone!" a voice cried and Lily, Simone, and a startled Lysander looked up to see Leona smiling at everyone, especially a certain blonde haired boy in the group. Simone's eyebrow shot up when Leona just seated herself next to Lysander.

"Er...hi Leona..." Lily muttered and Simone nodded a brief good morning to the spunky redhead. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Just a little reunion. I haven't seen you guys all summer, and I thought we could catch up a bit," she smiled flirtatiously at Lysander, who wary smiled back while shifting uncomfortably. The two fifth years started chatting and Leona impishly giggled and slung her long red hair over her shoulder. Lily's insides burned with the jealousy of Lysander hanging out with other girls. It wasn't like she was possessive, but Lysander was her and Simone's best friend. Lysander told her something, and Lily smirked as she saw Leona's aghast face.

"Er...listen Le, we'll catch up later. Right now I have to eat and get ready for class." Lysander smiled innocently and waved as she reluctantly left, then he rolled his eyes. "So who's going to Hogsmeade this year?" he asked and Lily smiled brightly. Lorcan lazily raised his hand and Simone looked down.

"Simi? What's wrong?" Lily asked, gently placing her hand on Simone's shoulder. The latter girl sighed.

"Well, mum's not here, as always, and Elizabeth has offered to sign it. I mean, legally, she is since she's already seventeen...but I don't know if Headmistress Longbottom will allow this," Simone mourned and Lily frowned, obviously hating seeing her so upset.

"Well...what if we can somehow persuade her?" she asked and Simone looked up, looking extremely grateful.

"Would you really?" Simone squealed, wrapping her arms around Lily excitedly. Lily laughed and nodded, getting up.

"Sure, I'll see what I can do. I'm going to go meet Luke outside. See you later," Lily smiled gently and scurried away, much to the other three's dismay. Simone watched her go with a heavy heart.

"Am I the only one who's remotely worried?" she asked, groaning. Lysander scowled, creating wrinkles on his forehead. His blonde hair fell into his eyes, casting a shadow over his eyes, which were burning with obvious jealousy. It was so blatantly obvious, that no one even bothered to tease him about it. They were all just as worried as he was about Lily seeing Luke, and just Luke in general.

"You're not the only one Simi. Lily's been a bit...different, don't you think? And Luke...Luke's been in a good mood ever since that first meeting with her. And just Luke in general! I mean, what do we _really_ know about this guy? All we know is that he's a fifth year Slytherin. And is apparently from Romania. That's it! He doesn't give off a good aura," Lysander explained and Lorcan and Simone nodded.

"Who doesn't give off a good aura?" a voice asked and the two fourth years and one fifth year turned around to see Elizabeth standing in front of them with her robes on and her hair completely down. James was behind her, looking equally worried. Lorcan sighed.

"Luke, who else? We were just talking about Lily since she went to go see Luke," Lorcan explained as the eldest Potter became visibly rigid. Elizabeth shook her head, running her fingers through her hair.

"I'm sure she'll be careful," she offered weakly and James glared at her.

"Do you not care about my sister?" he spat before walking away. The black haired beauty stared at his retreating figure and she folded her arms, her face set into a frustrated look.

"Great, now I've got James mad," Elizabeth sighed, tears pricking her eyes. "I-I'm going to go find Lily," she told the lot and walked away, with the occasional sniffle and tear wiping motion. Lysander sighed.

"Joy, now we have Lily problems _and_ James and Elizabeth problems. How could this day possibly get any worse?" he angrily cried.

* * *

Lily sat under what was left of the Womping Willow. Luke Sanguisuga sat in front of her, both of their books in front of them. Lily tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and leaned back on the surprisingly firm base of the tree. She sighed as the wind picked up a little and fluttered the papers all over the place. Summoning them back, she tightly grasped them in her arms.

"So what did you want to see me for?" Lily asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Luke chuckled softly and turned towards Lily. His amber eyes were shining and Lily could feel herself getting lost in them. His hair was also disheveled in the wind and Lily could feel her neck becoming hot just thinking about it.

"I just wanted to hang out with you. Very few of the students have become my friends, since they all classify me in the 'creepy' category," Luke bitterly laughed and Lily frowned slightly. She lightly placed a hand on Luke's.

"I don't think you're creepy, or a loser. Your personality is all that really matters," she smiled encouragingly at the elder boy, but to no avail. Luke bitterly shook his head and ruffled his already disheveled hair.

"I've been a freak everywhere I go. It's not surprise, nor is it very hard to deal with. I guess I've gotten used to it over the years." Lily gaped as he said this, but the mysterious boy continued to tell his tale. "Growing up was hard, since my parents were killed in an accident. I've raised myself as an only child since I was nine, so when I started getting the Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beuboxton letters, I was thrilled since I was finally getting a chance to live. But I've never really had friends as a child, so meeting you here as a real friend has been a nice change to the normal," Luke concluded, chuckling a little. It was true that he had never really had friends. Lily smiled.

"Don't worry. You'll always have a friend in me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go meet up with my friends. I hope I really haven't missed anything...not that anything happens during breakfast."

* * *

Later that Saturday night, screams echoed in the room as the doors opened, revealing a frazzled Professor Spritely and an empty cage. All the students looked up from their momentary panic.

"The pixies have escaped!" the professor cried while Simone screeched when she felt food drop in her hair.

"My hair, it's ruined! Urgh, damn you, you stupid sprite! Come back here!" she growled and Lysander yelped as he was lifted off the floor by his ears. Lorcan was hiding under the table with minimal food on him. By now all the students were running around and screaming. Professor Longbottom walked in as people were still screaming.

"What is going on here?" she boomed loudly and everyone stopped, including the pixies. Lysander was dropped on the floor, resulting in him becoming a lump of clothing. Simone was ultimately left with wet and sticky hair, from the maple syrup and the orange juice that were poured in her hair. "Professor Spritely, what on _Earth_ is going on?" the headmistress snapped, her voice cracking from the stress she was feeling. The frazzled professor now looked like a train wreck as she tried to summon an answer that was worthy of the headmistress.

Meanwhile, Lily walked in and was shocked to see everyone looking like they had just gotten mauled by a tornado. Glancing at her friends, she grimaced at their appearance. "Guys, what happened?" she gasped as she rushed towards them. She offered Lysander her hand, which he graciously took. Lorcan bumped his head while trying to get up, to which Simone had to stifle a giggle and help him up.

"Professor Spritely, how many times must I tell you to keep all the pixies locked up in one place? Goodness..." the headmistress reprimanded the teacher then briskly walked away, muttering under her breath. The pale looking professor sighed as she wearily slid into a chair.

"Oh dear God..." she moaned. "All right, like I taught you everyone. Light feathery movements. Recite the incantation that I taught you. _Accio bottle_," she sighed as the bottle came towards her...then hit her on the head.

"Poor Professor Spritely...she usually doesn't make mistakes like this. And she looks so pale and exhausted," Lily commented as her friends dusted themselves off. "By the way, has anyone seen Elizabeth or James? Both of them looked really upset..."

"Er...those two had a little spat..." Lysander vaguely commented, trying to look nonchalant about it. Lily looked at them, a bit surprised and worried.

"Really? About what?" Lily asked, cocking her head innocently to the side. "They haven't fought that bad since last year," she commented as an afterthought. Lysander and Lorcan looked nervous and Simone just averted her gaze. "Oh, come on guys! What could be so bad that they had a fight as big as this?" she snapped, getting a bit impatient.

"Er...something small, I suppose," Lysander smiled nervously, running away, while Simone and Lorcan nodded before running after Lysander.

"Simi! Ly! Lorcan!" Lily screamed after them. Quieting down, she sighed and shook her head and walked towards the Gryffindor common room. As she said the password to the Fat Lady, Lily heard voices that were getting louder and louder as she walked in.

"James, please stop! She knows what she's doing and I'm sure she'll come to you if she thinks she's getting hurt!" the voice sniffled and Lily immediately recognized it as Elizabeth's voice.

"_IF_ she gets hurt? Don't you understand that she's going to get hurt no matter what? I don't trust this guy and neither should you!" James snapped back and Lily cringed at the tone he was using towards his girlfriend. To be honest, she had never heard him use this tone on anyone. "Don't you understand how dangerous he could be?"

"Of course I understand! I don't like him as much as the next guy does, but I trust Lily! I know she always does what's right and I know that she would come to you if anything went wrong," Elizabeth yelled, her voice sounding thick which made Lily nervous since that usually meant that she was crying, or at least near crying. "She's in her fourth year! That's when we got together. I know she's your little sister and you're protective of her, but holding her back like this?" Elizabeth snapped. By the tense silence, Lily knew James was getting a bit purple faced like their father's Uncle Vernon.

"That's just what she needs!" James hissed. Lily scowled. '_What? I don't need some babysitter looking after me!_' "I don't care if you trust her! She's _my_ sister and I know what's best for her! She's falling in love too quick and it's not healthy for her! And I know Lily. She jumps every chance she has with a boy and then it always ends badly for her. To me, Luke is just one of her experiments. She's just like Mum; Dad told us that Mum had so many boyfriends during her years in Hogwarts. We all know the inevitable. Besides, no one should fall in love this quick," James commented and Lily's face became blank as she took in all the information. When she heard James' comment about love, Lily knew he was in for it.

"So you think that we're too young for love?" Elizabeth asked, her voice getting quieter with each word she spoke. Peering out from the corner, the youngest Potter spotted the black haired beauty standing indignantly in the middle of the common room, with her hands on her hips and tears streaming down her face. James was in his robes and was standing just like Elizabeth only his arms were crossed over his chest.

"No, no! I'm just saying that Lily is too young for love! She's not ready for this, and Luke is certainly _not_ the first person I'd go for if I wanted a boyfriend," James hurriedly assured her. Elizabeth looked unsatisfied.

"I understand how you feel. I just think you should take it a bit more easy on Lily. I have to go," Elizabeth commented quietly.

"No, Lizzie, wait!" James reached out to her and kissed her full on the lips. Lily looked at them worriedly. Even though she hated watching her brother snog his girlfriend, she didn't mind this time. It was then that Lily began to feel a bit guilty, since her seeing Luke was obviously tearing them apart. But she suddenly realized something; it wasn't her fault! She had finally found a guy that made her slightly happy. They didn't have the right to tell her that she couldn't see any of them! She noticed Elizabeth's smile as they pulled away and grimaced. '_So much for the arguing couple_,' Lily thought in disappointment. She thought she had Elizabeth on her side, but apparently not. She was a betrayer, just like every one of her friends.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Lily asked as she pretended to walk in. She just hoped they would buy that she didn't hear anything. "I heard you two were fighting from Lysander...is everything ok?" she asked and Elizabeth placed her hand on James' chest, leaning into the crook of his neck. They both had fleeting nervous looks that were quickly replaced with false happy ones.

"Oh yea, totally fine," James grinned his toothy grin. Elizabeth nodded and Lily noticed James giving his girlfriend a warning look as if to not say too much. She rolled her eyes; too bad she already knew the whole story.

"Yup, just a little spat between the two of us. Something little; I honestly can't remember what it's about!" Elizabeth giggled and her right eye twitched a little. Lily gave them a fake smile, suddenly feeling really tired.

"Well, I'm tired," Lily commented, letting out a genuine yawn. James got up fairly quickly and rushed over to her. Lily glared at him a little and stepped away. But to her annoyance, he got even closer to her. His eyes scanned over her whole body and his eyes looked strict. "Fancy telling me what's so fascinating about my body, James Sirius? I reckon you've already seen Elizabeth's anatomy," she snapped and Elizabeth's eyes widened ever so slightly. James frowned and stepped away.

"You look really tired, and I mean, _really_ tired. Your whole face is pale and your eyes have bags under them," James commented, a bit coldly probably because of what she had just said. "I'm just worrying over you like I always do Lil. I don't see why you're so impatient."

Ignoring the last comment, Lily's scowl deepened. "Just stay out of my business. You're acting like some worried mother," Lily spat and she stomped upstairs. As he watched her retreating figure disappear into the depths of the hallway, James looked at Elizabeth worriedly and he noticed that she looked a bit hurt. Making his way to the couch, he scooped her into his lap and held onto her tightly as she breathed in and out slowly, trying to process what had just happened.

"You ok?" he asked, knowing it was a stupid question, but something he just had to ask. Elizabeth sighed softly and looked down while shaking her head. She turned her head until her eyes were able to meet James' and the two pairs of orbs searched each other for a brief moment.

"Of course I'm not James, but I'm sure you already knew that," Elizabeth laughed a little. After a pregnant pause, she spoke again, this time surprising him a little. "That didn't sound like the Lily we know," she said and James looked at her. Elizabeth sucked in her cheek, something she always did when she was nervous or upset. "The Lily I know would never say that...or if she did, she would say it jokingly; not harshly like she just did." Elizabeth slowly got up, her eyes not leaving her boyfriend for a second. Seeing that look in her eyes, he knew she was extremely worried.

"I know what you mean. I guess we'll have to keep an even closer eye on her...I still think that we should do something about that Luke guy...he's really getting on my nerves," James growled and Elizabeth grabbed his hand and smirked a little.

"And this isn't just because he showed you up during Quiditch practice today, right?" she laughed a little as James blushed. His mouth opened a little but Elizabeth beat him to his words. "Oh, I'm sorry; it was just a _fluke_. Pardon me for thinking that there might be someone better than you out there," Elizabeth smiled cheekily as James' mouth seemed to deflate and he glared at her a little. Elizabeth's grin grew wider as he pouted a little. "Oh come on; I'm just joking Mr. Serious. Lighten up; you know I think you're the best out there." The pair of lovers shared a laugh in what had seemed like ages and made their way upstairs to their respective dormitories.

* * *

Whistling, Angus made his way through the forbidden forest, throwing food to the occasional magical creature he passed. His dirt brown hair flowed behind him in its traditional ponytail and his big bulky physique made him look intimidating when he wanted to be. But on the inside, he was just a big softie at heart. He loved his job as Game Keeper and was the replacement of the legendary Hagrid, who was now happily retired in Romania. Angus was just finishing his nightly patrol of the Forbidden Forest, when he heard a snarl. Shifting his eyes nervously from side to side, he grimaced. He knew he was letting his emotions get the best of him. There hadn't been any dangerous creatures in here for more than twenty years since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been feeding on the mystical blood of the unicorn. Shaking his head wildly, Angus made sure he wasn't caught up in his reminiscing of the past as he made his way back to his little hut. A branch snapped and he jumped and made a strangled sound. He berated himself once more; no use in feeding anymore animals- his main goal right now was to make it out of the Forbidden Forest in one piece. Or, in the very least, a few bruises and/or scratches. The snarl became a bit louder and Angus spotted a pair of glowing red eyes. He blinked his eyes and they were gone. Now thoroughly frightened, he ran towards the end of the forest, safely making it out. But if he had stayed there any longer, he would have heard the snarl rip out of the throat of the creature. He would have heard the rustling of the bushes as the creature stepped out, mainly masked by the dim light of the moon and the shadows cast by the towering trees. Angus would have seen the creature bare his teeth when he spotted the centaur and pounce on it, cutting off its frantic calls for help. As he fed on it, the cries were softened, weakened, almost to the point where they were just puffs of air. One last gulp, the creature lifted its head up, his mouth stained red. His eyes gleamed and it was apparent that he looked satisfied for tonight. He looked around, making sure no one saw, then in a single whoosh, he was gone; and all was silent once more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, after a _long_ time, I'm finally updating! This story hasn't been getting all the recognition I've wanted it to get, mostly because Broken Hearts and Promises was such a big hit. It's finally summer vacation and I'm finally getting my writing streak back. Chapters are being written, and stories are being updated. New ideas are also making their way onto my computer. It's been the longest hell of a school year of my _entire_ life, but I'm finally ready to kick back and relax and write everything I've been meaning to write. **

**Anyway, this chapter isn't really the best of the best work, but I'm quite proud of it. Forgive me if any of the characters seem strange to you or are OOC, but I don't think they could be since not a lot of background info was given on them in the books and since half the characters are OCs. This chapter basically gives us a little insight into Luke's mind and how he actually likes Lily. It also portrays how much Lysander loves Lily...and how little sisters can easily get annoyed with their big brothers (take it from my experience). I also love how James and Elizabeth aren't the perfect couple, but they love each other enough to try. So before I get too sappy...I'll give you my closing statement.**

** Oh! And don't forget to check out the author's note at the end of the chapter as well. I know a few of you, my readers, are getting really impatient**** with me because of my stories and the lack of updates for them. But now enough of my insistent rambling, and let's get on with the chapter!**  


**~Deepika**

* * *

**Chapter 4-**

"Ugh! The nerve of them!" Lily screeched, stomping into her room that she shared with Simone and three other people. Startled, Simone jolted up, resulting in her hitting her head on the wall shelf above her. Hearing her mutter curses, Lily rushed over to her. "Are you ok?" she asked and Simone nodded painfully. They were lucky that their other two roommates were in the common room.

"Forget about me; what's wrong with you? I've never heard you scream like this before," Simone replied and Lily's worried face became dark. "Uh oh...what did the guys do now?" Simone asked, bracing herself for Lily's rant. To her surprise, Lily shook her head. "If not the boys then who?"

"My stupid brother and his girlfriend," she replied pouting. Simone became confused. "James and Elizabeth," she clarified and Simone's mouth became an 'o' as she finally understood. Lily had probably overheard them fighting. "I mean, it's my choice what to do with a guy! I'm old enough to make my decisions. James doesn't have to keep protecting me like I'm a five year old!" Lily's eyes had started to tear up. Simone hugged her.

"He's just being a brother...I'm sure he'll get over it!" Simone smiled reassuringly. Lily shook her head unconvinced.

"Simone, I've never seen him like this before! That look in his eyes...it was terrifying..." Lily sniffled and a few tears fell. "I know you guys don't like Luke," Lily began and Simone stiffened. "See? I was right!" Lily's voice had become tight and choked with tears. Simone bit her lip. "But he's been nice to me. I don't want to date him or anything, but still! At least give him a chance!" Lily pleaded her best friend. Simone sighed and patted Lily.

"We'll try Lil, but no promises. Especially Lysander; I'm sure he can't stand Luke's guts right now," Simone joked while trying to hint the girl about the blonde boy's obvious crush. Lily shook her head in dismay.

"Ly too? Ugh, boys are so confusing! I'm going to bed. Hopefully I'll calm down by tomorrow," Lily grimaced as she climbed under the covers. Simone shook her head. The Lily Potter she knew would never get this worked up about a few simple comments. She would let people attack her, call her names, scream insults at her and try to break her down all while holding her head high and claiming that others were jealous that she was who she was. Lily would try to understand other people's perspectives and how they saw certain things.

Seeing as how it wasn't that late, Simone walked out of her room and tiptoed downstairs where she could hopefully meet Lysander and try to sort this whole situation out. As she made her way down the last step, Simone was surprised to see not only Lysander, but her sister and James as well. Knowing that something wasn't right, she hurried over to see an upset Elizabeth and a livid James. "Elizabeth! What's wrong?" Simone cried and Elizabeth looked up. Simone saw that though her eyes were dry, they were filled with a lot of hurt.

"Lily said some unusually harsh things to Elizabeth," James answered when it became apparent that the young black haired woman wasn't going to answer. It looked like she was still trying to comprehend what had happened. "I just don't understand what happened...my little sister," James looked down and Simone noticed Elizabeth's hand wrapped around James'. By this time, Lysander looked up and walked over to the three.

"So I guess I'm not the only one who's noticed something weird about Lily these days?" Lysander piped up and James looked over at the blonde haired boy, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "If you're wondering, it's because I'm in love with your sister but she's never going to know," Lysander informed him. James merely raised an eyebrow. "Now are we really talking about this or are we going to discuss what's going on with Lily? Ever since that meeting with Luke..." Lysander trailed off and James' blank face became one of annoyance.

"It all started because of Luke. Every time I go to see Lily it's 'Luke this' and 'Luke that'. I mean, doesn't she get tired of talking about Luke? Honestly," James scoffed and Lysander distractedly nodded in agreement. Elizabeth shook her head.

"Would you stop and listen to yourselves? This is Lily we're talking about. And even though I know how James and I were in our 'honeymoon stage' there is no way there is no dark magic involved. I won't believe she changed like this willingly," she snapped and James looked at her. "Lily is our friend and sister. We promised we'd do anything to keep her safe. Am I right?" Elizabeth looked at the people around her, eyes flashing. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to get to the bottom of this," she curtly nodded before running upstairs. James sighed and looked at her.

"Determination and fire...that's hot," he grinned, following her and earning several eye rolls and fake gags. "She's my sister and I promised I'd keep her safe no matter what," he muttered, though everyone heard, as he went upstairs. Lysander smiled broadly.

"We've been childhood best friends; plus, I love her more than anything in my entire life. I'd never let anything hurt her. You with me Simi?" the blonde haired fifth year asked and the younger Wood girl nodded enthusiastically.

Behind the door, a shadow was seen, smirking and slowly creeping away. "How touching. That girl's friends _actually_ think they have a chance in beating us," he grinned maniacally. It seemed that the atmosphere was getting colder by the second and his teeth bared in the dim moonlight. "How dare they believe that they have a chance? I am the ultimate test! Soon, the name Lord Voldemort will no longer be said in vain. I will avenge his death," he chuckled darkly.

* * *

The sunlight poured into the room sooner than Lily Potter would have liked it to. After hours of stressing over her brother and his girlfriend, Lily reluctantly got out of bed. Sundays weren't very fun, especially when she would be going home soon. That would mean dealing with James and Elizabeth 24/7 not mention Rose, Scorpius, Al, Simone, Hugo, and Aaron, all of whom, no doubt, knew about her being with Luke. Sometimes, it was really annoying to be related to the Weasley family. Stretching out her sore joints, Lily headed towards the lavatory to wash herself up. Thanksgiving and Christmas were just around the corner; almost a month away. It didn't help that today was Halloween either. The little classes that were scheduled for today had been canceled, meaning that her friends were going to try to get to her "away from the dark side" no matter what. Groaning, she exited the bathroom, only to bump into Luke. Her heart thudded and she blushed as she helped him up, thoroughly embarrassed. He chuckled.

"Well that's certainly an interesting way to greet someone," he joked and Lily blushed once more, flipping her hair and straightening out her clothes. Her azure eyes twinkled as she caught Luke staring at her.

"Can't stop staring?" Lily giggled and Luke rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Hey Luke, if there was something...weird...going on in your life, would you tell me?" Though Lily didn't notice it, Luke's smile droop a bit.

"Uh, yea, of course," he stuttered, though the youngest Potter was quite satisfied with the answer for she smiled brightly and hugged her companion. Luke laughed nervously as he hugged her back. Lily pulled apart from him and stared him dead in the eye. Her seriousness and the hope in her eyes made him nervous. Her words made his heart pang and made him feel even worse about himself than he already felt.

"Good, cause you know you can count on me. Besides, what are friends for?" Lily grinned once more before turning around. "I'll see you later Luke," Lily flashed a brief smile before turning and walking away, with Luke just staring after her, a desperate look plastered on his face.

* * *

"Lysander, for Pete's sake, wake up!" Lorcan groaned as he was pushed away. The older Scamander muttered something and snuggled deeper into his pillow. "Lysander Gregory Scamander, if you don't wake up this instant, I'm going to tell Lily you still sleep with that blanket Mum gave you ever since you were three," Lorcan smirked but the only response was him getting hit in the face with a pillow. "Damn, that didn't even wake you up?" the younger Scamander murmured to himself.

"Are you really trying to wake Lysander up? You know it's never going to work," a voice laughed and Lorcan felt his heart skip a beat as he turned and saw Simone Wood. It was no question that he fancied the younger Wood girl.

"Yea...just thought I'd push my luck," Lorcan chuckled but sobered when he saw James and Elizabeth walk in with serious faces. "Elizabeth, James...what's wrong?" Lorcan asked and Elizabeth had in her hands, a _Daily Prophet_ news clipping, that she passed on to Lorcan. Lysander heard the seriousness of Lorcan's tone and had immediately woken up.

_**Mysterious Killings in Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts**_

_Early on last week, there were several reported deaths of centaurs, giant spiders, unicorns, and other various creatures native to Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest. The creatures were both eaten until only the bones and the skeleton of the creature remained and was drained of every single last drop of blood that could be found. Theories of vampires and werewolves are flying around, but nothing is definite. We talked to the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who stiffly replied with a 'no comment' response. It is quite obvious that she had not been informed of these brutal murders and to add what on earth could be killing these poor defenseless creatures. An interview with Maxim, the caretaker of the Forbidden Forest and teacher of Hogwarts' Care for Magical Creatures class, shocked us to the bone._

_"The forest is normally very peaceful, now that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone, but these kinds of killings are extremely unusual. Usually, there are only 1-2 reported deaths each day, and this is mainly because of natural causes. However, we have surmised a death toll of 10-15 creatures. We have issued a daily patrol and have created a magical barrier that no human being can surpass. Also, the no walking around campus after dark decree is once again issued, until this menacing threat is caught." he commented with dead seriousness._

_Many should beware of this threat since there have not been this many deaths since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was still alive. This should not alarm anyone, however, because it is highly improbable that a creature as bad as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is still alive. This is thanks to the Ministry and their amazing Auror department, led by the chief auror, Mr. Harry Potter. The creature killing the Forbidden Forest inhabitants are believed to be wizards who are trying to attain eternal life just as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had once tried over a decade ago. Updates will be featured in next week's edition of The Daily Prophet._

Lorcan looked up in shock, with Lysander mirroring his expression. Their worst fears were coming true; something dangerous was lurking around Hogwarts. James exhaled deeply through his nose while rubbing his temples. "Does anything about that article scream suspicious and even familiar to you?" he breathed and Simone bit down on her bottom lip.

"I think that as long as we follow what the paper tells us to do, we'll be fine," Simone nodded her head firmly but when she received looks of disbelief, she rolled her eyes. "But of course, we heroes don't take a break; do I even have to stop you guys this time? Can we just have a normal day and _not_ worry about evil people lurking around Hogwarts?" she snapped and Elizabeth ran her hand through her long hair.

"Simi, as long as this thing is around, no one is safe. I know that three years ago I said that I didn't want to do anything like this again, but I feel like I have no choice. We have to get to the bottom of this no matter what. I know that if I don't, I'll feel guilty because I have the power to do something but I just sat there and did nothing," Elizabeth gently told her sister. Simone groaned and bit down on her lip once more. "Besides; what if this guy somehow gets into Hogwarts and attacks one of us? I know I'll be pretty damn pissed."

"I agree; and I'm not just saying this because my father saved the whole world from _HIS_ destruction. We don't even have to go that into the mystery; we could just delve slightly into it...ok, that was a stupid thing to say since we all know that somehow, we'll end up saving the world again," he chuckled slightly as Elizabeth lightly smacked his arm. Lysander looked down at the blanket that his feet were tangled in.

"It'll be dangerous...and I don't think we can take it if another incident like Elizabeth's happens..." he breathed loud enough for everyone to hear. James sharply looked at the older Scamander with flashing eyes. "James, it doesn't matter if we don't want to hear it; the fact is that we're dealing with dangerous creatures and it can cause some serious damage," Lysander returned his steely gaze with his own steely glare. "Now if you'll excuse me, since we don't have any classes, I would like to go back to sleep. This could be the only time when I'll be able to sleep and not really worry about anything," he muttered the last sentence under his breath and lay back down on the couch. A few moments later, the common room door could be heard opening and the five students looked to their left to see Lily coming in.

"Hey... It looks like someone died in here...what's going on?" the youngest Potter asked, scanning her friends and family for any answers. She vaguely noted that Lysander was fitfully sleeping and the somewhat dark and guarded looks the people in front of her were giving; no doubt he was having nightmares and had wrenched his eyes open in a hurry and no doubt something was really, truly wrong. Elizabeth silently walked over and handed the newspaper clipping to her little sister's best friend. Lily scanned the article and looked up at her friends with a terrified expression. "Oh god...someone _did_ die," she breathed and took a step forward only to cringe and clutch her head. It felt like it was on fire and it was spinning, causing her to almost collapse- if Elizabeth wasn't there to catch her.

"Are you ok?" Elizabeth asked and Lily faintly nodded, clutching to the black haired beauty as if she were her only lifeline. "Here, sit down," she gently told her close friend, leading her to one of the red couches. With a groan, Lily lay down on the couch and closed her eyes, trying to relax and calm her mind. It was weird; the last thing she remembered was bidding Luke goodbye and walking away- after that, it was all blank. Her mind slowly faded into unconsciousness but Lily tried to focus on the voices and not let them meld together into some kind of insistent buzz.

"Does she have a fever? Is she sick?" a voice asked worriedly. At first, Lily thought it was James but after a few moments, she realized it was Lysander that was worrying about her. As her mind became fuzzier, she felt her heart swell a little, touched by how much he was worrying about her. Lily tried to mumble her thanks but all that came out were little puffs and groans. A hand smoothed her hair back and a cold towel was placed on her forehead. "Lor, get me the blanket? Ugh, never mind. _Accio _blanket" he muttered and Lily felt the texture of a woolen blanket on her body. She groaned a little, as a sharp stab of pain seared her mind and a pair of red eyes that belonged to a face that looked like it could kill flashed in her mind. With a gasp Lily fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

What felt like minutes later, Lily groaned and wearily blinked her eyes. Her sight was unfocused but soon became clearer. She looked over to her left side and noticed Lysander reading a book, with Lorcan next to him and Simone's head on Lorcan's shoulder, both fourth years sleeping. Lily noticed her blonde haired friend look up from the book and a smile formed on his face. Gently dismantling himself from the couch, he made his way over to the Potter girl.

"Hey...you ok?" he asked softly, not wanting to wake up his brother. Lily feebly nodded and struggled to sit up. "Hey, hey, lie down. Can you remember what happened?" he gently asked while summoning another cold towel. Lily closed her eyes, trying to remember, but all she got was a sharp pain in her mind and she visibly flinched. Lysander was instantly at her side.

"No, no, I'm fine... I just can't really remember," she dejectedly sighed and Lysander ruffled her hair. "Ly, stop it!" Lily pouted while whining. Suddenly, a growl was heard and Lily's face turned red. "Er...I'm hungry," she sheepishly smiled and Lysander chuckled, stretching out his hand.

"Well then Lady Lily...shall we go to the kitchen? I'm sure Hali Longbottom will have no problem getting her mother to let us have some food. I didn't eat either...I was with you the whole time," the blonde fifth year muttered and blushed slightly. Lily smiled brightly, completely oblivious to how he had just hinted to his feelings and the extent of them.

"Well...what are we waiting for? Let's go!" she giggled, grabbing Ly's outstretched hand and pulling him, not noticing the two knowing smiles coming from two fourth years who had heard the whole exchange.

* * *

The evening rolled in and Lily was lounging on the couch, reading a book, while resting her head on Simone's lap. Lysander was one the adjacent couch, reading a textbook. Lily peered at the blonde fifth year while resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Although he refused to do his work until late in the night, he was on the top of his year and he was a _dork_ with a capital D. To add to his apparently dorky nature, he was taking notes. _Notes_ during _Halloween_! After a few more minutes, Lysander wiped the sweat from his brow and closed the textbook, closing his eyes in the process and leaning back. Lily smirked, sitting up and closing her book.

"Done being a dork, Ly?" Lily giggled and she swore she could hear Simone laugh under her breath. Lysander glared at his fourth year friends but was too tired and brain-dead to do anything. The blonde Gryffindor rolled his eyes and clutched his stomach.

"Yes...can we get some food? It's going to be a feast and I'm starving!" he moaned and Lily giggled and swung her legs back and forth, a coy smile playing on her lips and Lysander deadpanned a bit. "You're going to make me wait aren't you?" he pouted slightly and Lily let a giggle slip from her lips. Lysander sighed. "Fine...guess I'll just have to go have all the food to myself and not save anything for you," Lysander grinned as he ran out, Lily and Simone running after him, yelling.

* * *

The light was dim and no one was in the room. It was quiet...a bit too quiet for Rose Weasley's liking as she strode around the hallways and checked the rooms, her boyfriend Scorpius Malfoy in the room next to hers. Rose's prefect badge gave off an annoying glare as she neared the only window in the room; it was large and arch shaped, giving a perfect view of the full moon that was just reaching its apex. With a jolt in her heart, Rose realized that Elizabeth would have to go near the forest today...and that wasn't something James would be particularly happy about. There was a flash and Rose whipped her body around. Darting nervously, she made her way to the door and peered outside, checking to see if anything was out there. Sighing to herself and convincing herself that her nerves were getting the best of her emotions, Rose strode back to the window. As she looked outside, a pair of red eyes were reflected in the glass pane and Rose let out a high pitched scream, sending Scorpius running into the room and calming the redhead down.

"Oh my god, Scorpius! I swear on my mother's books that there was a-a-a _THING_ with red eyes and it glared at me! I swear!" she screeched, her voice full of nothing but panic. Her hazel eyes were filled with sheer terror, which scared the blonde Malfoy.

"Rose, Rosie, calm down! There's nothing there!" Scorpius tried to calm her down. Rose was now starting to frantically look around to find the creature with red eyes. Her wand was thrust out and pointed around the room. The young Malfoy crushed Rose to his chest and rubbed her back. "Rose, calm down. There's nothing in this room. Come on, that's enough patrolling," he soothed his girlfriend. The two walked to the Ravenclaw Common room where they found Lysander talking to his brother Lorcan. Lysander was the first to notice them.

"Hey guys!" he greeted but frowned when he saw his and Rose's grim expressions. "What's wrong?" he asked, rushing over to them, Lorcan following. "Rose...? Are you ok?" the older brother asked sharply, looking over her body. Scorpius shrugged.

"I have no idea. All I know is that Rose saw something and she started screaming... You reckon you saw a pair of red eyes?" Scorpius asked his redheaded girlfriend. She nodded weakly, making her way to the couch.

"My god...they were terrifying... I-it looked like it belonged to something that killed," she whispered and Lorcan looked up.

"Isn't today a full moon?" Lorcan asked, giving the other three Hogwarts students meaningful looks. Rose shook her head.

"I know what you're thinking, but it wasn't her. I would know because in the full moon, her eyes are yellow and not red. Besides...they're usually in the forest by now," Rose replied and shook her head. "No matter...I just...probably imagined the whole thing," the redheaded Weasley exhaled and looked down. Her blonde boyfriend looked at her worriedly.

"You sure?" he asked softly, taking a seat next to her and pulling her closer to him. Rose nodded, but he could still feel the tension of her body.

"Yea. Just...don't worry about it," Rose replied. A few moments later, she got up and brushed herself off while straightening her hair out. "Now it you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go read something," she cleared her throat and slowly made her way upstairs. Though she thought no one was looking, everyone saw how her face crumpled and fear had made its way back into her eyes.

* * *

**Do I even need to tell you guys the obvious? Please read and review...they make me happy! And also, give me feedback and other c.c that tells me if anything needs to be added, deleted, or even made better. I write for people to enjoy, so if you don't tell me what you guys like, I can't tell . Anways, enough of me being a bitch or a nagging mother...I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it's not my finest work. **

**Also, I know that I haven't been updating a lot, but I am working. I'm currently working on this story, Roses and Thorns, along with Poke Reunion, Water Lust, That Fateful Night, The Lonely Girl Next Door, Those High School Sweethearts, and possibly, new stories. I can't thank you guys enough for actually sticking with me, but please hold on just a bit more. I promise I won't disappoint!  
**

**~Deepika**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi there! I'm back with chapter 5, and I have to say...I'm addicted to this story once again! I mean, I know that I should be focusing on other stories, but I swear; I can't bear to stop writing this story. I originally tried to make this a 10,000 word chapter, but seeing as how that will never happen, I stuck with 5,000. Hopefully this will make you groan at my James/Elizabeth mushyness and hopefully laugh at some dark humor? I dunno.**

**Anyway, this chapter has a bunch of hints, and sharp readers will definitely catch the hints I make in this chapter and in the other chapters as well. A lot of you already think Luke is a suspicious character, but I can't say anything about it. All I can say is that I have huge plans for Lysander, Lily, and Luke, in relation to their little love triangle of sorts...or kind of love acute angle because Luke and Lysander don't love each other? Back on topic, I certainly hope you enjoy the subtle moments between all of the characters. **

**That is certainly one of my favorite part to write, mostly because I try not to make it too mushy, but at the same time, I try to make sure that enough fluff is in the moment so it can be categorized as a moment. I know I haven't really touched upon Lysander/ Lily and Lorcan/Simone, but I promise that I'll get to it in later chapters, so you guys just have to watch out for that. I was happy with the reviews I got from the other chapter so I was like 'oh what the hell' and I posted this chapter. It legit took me a week to write it, because I'm super busy. **

**For fans of my other stories- I promise to try working on my other stories. I'm sorry, but I just had to get this chapter off my chest. I listened to my itunes library while writing this chapter so please excuse changes of mood. Also, if anyone has any ideas about another story I can do for Harry Potter, I would really appreciate it; it must be 2nd generation though...no Harry generation. I feel that there are already too many fics about them, and not enough fics for these people. I hope you guys really liked this chapter because I legit worked my ass for it. **

**Follow my twitter for fan fic updates: http: / www. twitter. com / xxDeepikachuxx  
**

**Now, enough of my insistent rambling and let's get on with the chapter!**

**~Deepika  
**

* * *

**Chapter 5-**

"So uh...what exactly are we looking for again?" Albus Potter asked and was rewarded with a glare from his girlfriend, Shannon Crawley. "What? How on Earth am I supposed to know what we're looking for? I haven't the foggiest idea of what's going on?" Al all but whined and Shannon rolled her eyes. The two stepped out of the Hogwarts castle and onto the grounds. They pretended to be making their way to Hagrid's hut that was now inherited by Hagrid's half- nephew, but changed directions and made their way to the Forbidden Forest.

"Well, James and Elizabeth showed us that article. Maxim said that some strange things were happening in the forest right?" Al echoed with a 'right'. "So, all we have to do is scout around the forest and then report back...simple right?" she smiled sweetly. Al sighed, bringing his sandy haired girlfriend closer to him, as if to protect her from all oncoming threats.

"Shan, that's what they all say," he muttered into her ear and let out a shaky sigh as their thudded footsteps were replaced with the crunching of dead leaves. Faint thuds were heard as creatures moved around and the occasional fluttering of a flying creature was heard. An ominous crowing was heard. Shannon looked at Al, her face confident, but her eyes casting the smallest sliver of doubt.

"See Al? This isn't so bad," she smiled nervously but Al could feel her tensing and jumping a bit when a growl was heard. "Totally fine..." she muttered mostly to herself. There was more growling and now both students had tensed. Al had let go of Shannon and had drawn his wand up, ready to pulverize anything. Shannon had her wand out as well, but had slid behind Al, clutching his arm. Shannon thought she heard something and turned around, pointing her wand out at something.

"Shannon?" the ebony haired Potter looked at his girlfriend, concern etched across his face. He turned around as her eyes scanned the forest they were now well into. For all he knew, she could have heard a small critter of sorts. Al's fine tuned ears heard something and he turned around just in time to see a streak of brown and black pounce on his girlfriend. "SHANNON LOOK OUT!"

* * *

"A pair of red eyes you say?" Elizabeth asked, looking up from her textbook. "Um...no it wasn't me, I'm quite positive. The last time I checked, my wolf form has auburn gold eyes, _my_ color eyes, and _not_ red," she continued, her eyes melding into a steely gaze. "And furthermore, why are you accusing me? I've had control of transitions for a bit over three years now! I'm perfectly capable of who or what I attack," the black haired beauty snapped. Lily looked at the fuming girl.

"Liz, we don't mean to be accusing you, believe me. We know you wouldn't do anything to harm Rose in any way. Plus, you hate changing in the castle," Lily quipped and Elizabeth stiffly nodded, bringing her attention back to the book. "But we need your help. Rose is terrified, and Scorpius is afraid it's his fault for suggesting that they split up. We just need to borrow your nose," Lily explained and Elizabeth sighed.

"Does James know about this?" she asked, already fearing the answer. Lysander, who was behind Lily along with Lorcan, Simone, and Aaron, spoke up.

"Er...no, which is another reason why we need you. We need you to convince him to help us, because no one is better at dueling and defending than him...and he probably won't come unless you persuade him," Lysander cracked a sheepish grin. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Could I have expected anything else?" she muttered to herself. "Alright, come on. I'll do my best to convince him. Just don't expect it to go down without a fight though," the black haired beauty reminded her younger friends. "Say, where are Al and Shannon?" she queried and Lorcan looked at her.

"They're scouting the Forbidden Forest," he replied in his dreamy voice, causing him to receive glares. Elizabeth stopped walking and stared at the younger blonde in shock. "Er, on second thought, maybe that wasn't so wise to say," he cleared his throat nervously and Elizabeth blinked a few times.

"They're out there _alone_? Let me repeat; Albus and Shannon are out in the Forbidden Forest _alone_ while there is some creature that is killing some of the strongest creatures in the wizarding world?" she shrieked, her voice raising a few octaves. Everyone cringed and braced themselves for the anger that was inevitably coming.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. Those two are an amazing pair together!" Aaron defended some of his best friends. Elizabeth blinked a few more times, meaning that she was seriously angry. A forced sigh escaped her mouth as she looked at her brother in exasperation and as if he had grown three heads.

"It doesn't how amazing they are in class! They could seriously be in danger!" she snapped, her voice still high pitched. "I swear, once I'm done straightening those two out, you lot will be next!" she yelled, her eyes clouded with fear. "I'm going to get James, and we're going to go get them out of the Forbidden Forest that, if you haven't heard by now, is filled with a creature so horrid it can kill practically every creature in the place!" she continued her rant, making her way to James' room. Simone and Lily ran up to her, trying to block her way.

"Elizabeth, please!" Simone begged but Elizabeth paid no attention. "Al and Shannon can handle themselves!" Simone pleaded with all her might but Elizabeth just glared at her.

"No they can't. Have we all forgotten what happened three years ago when Rose and I thought we could handle ourselves in the Chamber of Secrets?" Elizabeth argued and both girls faltered. Elizabeth took that moment to barge into James' room. Hushed whispers were heard in the room and after a few moments, the door opened once more with the couple sporting matching glares. As they ran to go help James' brother and his girlfriend, Simone groaned softly and leaned on Lily.

"We are so screwed," she moaned and she felt Lily tense up. Simone lifted her head up and gazed at her friend in curiosity. "Lily?" she asked as Lily began to shake.

"Ugh, forget them! Let's just go ourselves. Elizabeth is such a fucking kill joy. She never helps in anything!" Lily snapped and Simone staggered back into Lorcan, as if the force of the words had blown her away. Her eyes blazed and Aaron, the normally sensitive one, stood up to Lily.

"Don't you dare say that about my sister!" he spat, rising himself to his full height, which was taller than Lily. Simone looked at her best friend with angry tears forming in her eyes.

"My sister is not a fucking kill joy, you insensitive gnat!" Simone growled in the same tone as Aaron. "She cares about people and is _risking_ her life for your brother's! Elizabeth cares about all of us and was willing to help until she learned about Al and Shannon. So I suggest you think about what you want to say first before you actually say it," Simone huffed as she spun around on her heel and walked down the corridor to her room.

"Lily..." Lysander muttered and Lily averted her gaze. "Lily, what's gotten into you?" Lysander asked, taking a step closer to the youngest Potter. Lily scoffed and looked away. Lorcan looked at Lysander and then looked back at Lily.

"Lily, we're worried about you. You're one of our best friends and we just want to help," Lorcan piped up, stepping up to his brother's side. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I don't need your help Lorcan. I'm perfectly fine and I'm perfectly capable of handling myself. Now why don't both of you do me a favor and leave me alone?" Lily asked and walked away. The two Scamander brothers looked at each other. Lorcan nodded at his brother, who immediately took off.

Lysander followed Lily as she crossed the corridor and went into the hallways. She made her away across the campus and she made her way to the fifth years. Lysander's brow furrowed as he quickly put two and two together and figured out where she was going. He picked up his pace while calling her name. Lily turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. Lysander reached her and paused to catch his breath.

"Lily...calm down. We're just trying to help- _I'm_ trying to help," Lysander puffed and Lily sighed loudly in exasperation. "I...we care about you and just want to make sure that you're ok. Please, just talk to us," Lysander explained, his voice softening just a bit. Lily stroked her Weasley bright orange hair and a flash of regret passed through her hazel eyes, and Lysander smiled, thinking he got to her. Suddenly they hardened and the orange haired Potter stepped away from him.

"No! I'm tired of everyone thinking that I'm a small child! For bloody sakes, I'm almost fifteen!" she screamed at the blonde, who stepped back, raising his arms in surrender. "God, just leave me alone!" she snapped and walked over to her destination. All poor Lysander could do was watch the love of his life walk away from him and to the arms of another fifth year. Jealousy churned in his stomach as the pair embraced each other as if they were lovers.

"Lysander?" a voice asked and Lysander jumped, jerked out of his thoughts, and turned to see Rose Weasley looking at him with concern written all over her face. "Is what Elizabeth said true?" she asked softly and Lysander felt his face twist with guilt. "How?" she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "How could you let them go there?" she whispered in a strangled tone. Lysander looked up, sending a prayer that he worded this correctly.

"I wasn't aware of this until an hour ago, truth be told. But I didn't do anything about it, if that's what you're going to ask about next. I truly thought it was ok with you guys...I didn't know that they went ahead without your permission," Lysander replied, choosing his words carefully. Rose nodded thoughtfully.

"And Lily? I just saw her stomp away from you," Rose continued, slyly changing the topic. It was no secret of how the older Scamander brother fancied her little cousin and she couldn't help but get a feeling to how much of his love for her was true.

"She...took some of my words a bit too...literal?" Lysander began hesitantly, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "And then she yelled at me and ran straight to Luke. Is it bad that I don't trust Luke to be around Lily? It's not even jealousy...and James even felt it..." Lysander asked the Weasley. Rose looked at him and felt a small smile making its way onto her face. Lysander really did love Lily; and he totally wasn't afraid to show it. That made her respect the fifth year.

"I suppose...but it's Lily's choice to the people she hangs out with. Though I must admit, since she has been hanging around Luke and his friends recently, her mood has been rather unstable...shall we say? She's never really been one to blow up at people and to say such things. And even when she's trying to reject someone or something, she does it nicely and definitely not the way she's been doing it lately," Rose replied, nodding her head wisely. Lysander resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Rose was just trying to be helpful, and she was. She had brought up a valid point that made him think.

"Rose, I'm sure you've forgotten that I've grown up with Lily. I know her almost as well as I know the back of my palm," Lysander said and Rose blushed as she saw the protective and exasperated look in his stormy blue eyes.

"O-of course..." she muttered, thoroughly embarrassed. Lysander nodded, tossing a smile in her direction. Rose turned towards him. "Oh, and if anyone can persuade Lily to do something, it would be you Lysander. You're her best friend and the closest thing she has apart from her family," Rose giggled softly as red splotches were rising up to his cheeks. Lysander rolled his eyes as he tried to play off his blush and clapped his hand on Rose's shoulder before walking away, thinking about how Luke could be tied into how Lily was acting these days.

* * *

Elizabeth and James rushed through the Forbidden Forest, Elizabeth in her wolf form and James in his black panther form. James had chosen the black panther as his animagus because it was easy for him to blend into the night and to keep an eye on Elizabeth. Sometimes she couldn't find enough time to transform into a wolf and as the years went on, the curse of the werewolf became worse and harder to control. She was not like other wolves, however, because she was not a full one. Even when Elizabeth was in her wolf animagus, she still got out of control at times and James was usually there to keep her straight.

Their paws thudded against the leaves and dirt as Elizabeth kept her nose close to the ground, her gray fur sparkling in the iridescent glow of the waning three-quarter moon. She had the better sense of smell, while James streaked right behind her, his mocha brown eyes flashing and his ears perked for his sense of hearing was enhanced. Elizabeth suddenly stopped and whined and James looked up sharply. Their eyes met and James was good at reading her eyes. He sniffed the air and smelled what she smelled; the metallic stench of blood. Elizabeth whined and trotted forward, wary of her surroundings. James slunk quietly and they made their way to an oak tree where two figures lay on the ground, rendered unconscious. James growled and Elizabeth whined as she poked her nose on their bodies while inspecting them and smelling for the pungent odor of death. She breathed out and dipped her head to James who nearly collapsed with relief.

Al was the first one to wake, since his injury wasn't that serious. He gasped as he saw the two creatures then shook his head when he realized that it was just his brother and his girlfriend. As the thought of girlfriend passed his mind, Al scrambled to turn around and looked at Shannon. Dried blood crusted on the side of her head where it hit the oak tree and her arm was a bit mangled. Bite marks were evident and Elizabeth growled as she inspected the marks. Al put the puzzle pieces together and gasped, a moan escaping his lips.

"My god, please tell me she won't..." he whispered in a strangled voice. Tears formed in his eyes as he caressed her limp form. Shannon's sandy blonde hair fell over her eyes and Al let the tears drop. James made his way to Al and butted his head against Al's tattered robes. Al took that as a calming gesture and met James' mocha eyes. They were troubled but held an amount of faith, and for that, Al was relieved to have an older brother. James would most definitely find out who did this to Shannon, and when he did, Al was would have a piece of him. As if in sync with his brother's thoughts, James let out a menacing growl. Elizabeth glanced at the boys before huffing and rolling her auburn eyes. In a blink of an eye, James had become human again, while Elizabeth remained in wolf form.

"Al, don't worry. We're going to catch this fiend and then we're going to take him down. Right now, we have to worry about getting Shannon to the infirmary. Help me carry her," James instructed and Elizabeth growled as they gingerly man-handled her body. "Uh...sorry about that. Let's try it this way. Avoid contact with her mangled arm and let it hang so we don't mess anything up. I got her legs and you get her torso," James switched strategies and Elizabeth stood protectively in front of Shannon's mangled arm.

"She'll be ok, right?" Al asked and James looked at him with a look that told him everything. "I know you don't have an answer, but can't you at least act like a brother and lie to me and tell me that she's going to be ok?" Al asked, hanging onto Shannon's torso while trying to avoid the bite marks and her mangled arms, making the task almost impossible. Slowly, but progressively, they made their way out of the forest and onto the Hogwarts grounds. In the blink of an eye, Elizabeth changed back to her human form as they left the forest. She whipped out her wand and muttered "_Wingardium Leviosa"_. Shannon magically levitated and James and Al took out their wands as well, ready to support the girl as soon as she got tired. They made it to the grounds where the four found Lysander standing by himself, staring off into space. His attention was diverted, however, when he saw Shannon and he sprinted over to them, panic written all over his face.

"Oh my god is she...?" Lysander trailed off, and James shook his head quietly as Al kept his silent vigil next to Shannon's side. Lysander grimaced and visibly paled. "I'm going to call Madame Parvati and see if she can help," he nodded his head once before running into the castle. By now, some of the students had gathered around to see what was going on and Lily was one of them. She gasped and pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

"Shannon, Merlin's pants!" she squeaked and ran over to her brothers, one who was looking at her in sadness, and the other looking at her in slight anger. Lily bowed her head down, feeling tears well up into her eyes. No one needed to tell her the obvious; all of this was her fault. If only she hadn't whined and begged for Al to go check the woods alone, they wouldn't be in this mess. If only she had allowed someone else to go with them, then there would have been a chance that Shannon and Al would not have been so hurt.

Lily looked up to inspect her brother's injuries. He was bruised in some parts of his body, though they wouldn't show up until tomorrow. Parts of his arms were bloody as well, and her eyes drifted to his tattered robes. It was obvious that something had attacked them. Al noticed Lily looking at him and offered her a weak smile. Lily looked down once more and sighed, scuffling her feet. She looked over to James who had made his way over to Elizabeth. They were whispering to one another, and it made her jealous that her brother, her annoying cocky brother, could find his one true love during his fourth year while she was still alone, jumping on any guy that gave her the time of day. James looked over at his sister and felt most of his anger dissipate. He honestly could not stay mad at her for long at all. The almost Harry clone walked over to the youngest Potter.

"You ok?" he asked, his voice a bit gruff because of the remaining anger he felt. How could she be so irresponsible as to let her brother and his girlfriend go into the dangerous forest alone? James heard Lily sniffle a little and turn away, causing him to bite his lip. He hated when his sister cried- hell, he hated when all girls cried. James dragged Lily over to one of the stone pillars and gathered the orange haired girl in his arms. "Lily, what's wrong?" he sighed and Lily looked up at him with glazed eyes.

"I persuaded Al...I didn't know they'd get hurt...just thought we'd help try to solve the mystery faster, y'know? And...and...it just got all out of control!" she stifled a sob and James sighed as he brought Lily closer to him.

"Lil, I know you didn't mean it...but I just wish you would have thought your plan through just a little better, get what I'm saying? And- hey, what's this?" James asked, prodding at the bandage on Lily's neck. The orange haired girl swatted his hand in turn and wriggled out of his grasp, frowning.

"I got a cut, it's nothing serious," she snapped and walked away from him, leaving James extremely confused. He heard someone approach him and saw his girlfriend standing in front of him, looking at him in extreme concern. She hesitantly approached him, grabbing his hand and holding it close to her chest.

"You ok Jamie?" she asked and James half-shrugged, twining their hands and pulled her closer to him. She placed her head near his neck and moved her lips to his ear, causing a shiver of pleasure to travel down his spine. "Don't you dare lie to James Sirius Potter. You're telling me later, and there's not getting out of it," she lightly kissed it and hugged him. She pulled away and gave him a cheeky grin as James groaned form the loss of contact.

"Elizabeth, I swear. One of these days, you'll be the death of me," he shook his head, a small chuckle escaping from his mouth. Elizabeth smoothed his hand with her thumb, happy that the confused look on his face was gone for now.

She pulled him towards his brother and the still unconscious Shannon just in time to see Madame Parvati make her way through the growing crowd. Al was looking murderous and Elizabeth figured that the Hogwarts nurse had suggested he leave Shannon's side. The two lovers butted their way through the hoard of people and reached Madame Parvati. She had conjured up an enchanted stretcher in which the sandy blonde was placed on.

"Madame Parvati, what's going on?" Elizabeth asked, grasping on James' hand tightly. She had become quite close to the nurse because of the incident three years ago and they had formed a sort of bond between professor and student. The Indian nurse turned towards her, an exasperated look planted on her face.

"Can you please tell Albus that first of all, he needs to be checked upon as well. I'm sorry, I know you love her, but he _must_ leave Shannon's side for just a little while," she sighed in frustration as Al growled a 'no' once again. The black haired nurse turned towards him, eyes blazing. "Albus, I'm sorry, but she can be fatally injured and I have to do the inspection alone! Not to mention that you need to be inspected for any injuries as well, and that requires you to leave her side, like I mentioned. I promise that as soon as you're checked up upon, you can be with her again," the nurse tried to reason with him. Lysander, who had just come back to the scene looked at Al.

"Man, just go. Please, do it for us, or if not for, for Shannon," Lysander tried reasoning but Al stubbornly refused once more, though the look in his eyes changed slightly from anger and stubbornness to silent defeat. It was like every word was cracking his armor and there was nothing the middle Potter could do about it. Elizabeth sighed and stepped up to Al, all previous humor from her eyes gone.

"Al, just go and get checked out. I promise that we'll all sit with her and tell you if there are any changes in her state. But right now, she's unconscious and there's no sign of her waking up," Elizabeth firmly stated, trying her best to ignore the hurt look in Al's eyes. She tried her best to look compassionate and understanding, because she knew what everyone had gone through when she was in the infirmary. "Besides; the longer you argue and refuse to get inspected, the longer you're going to have to wait for Shannon. We'll all stay with her Al; she's as important to us, as she is with you. We'll check in with you as much as we can, ok?" Elizabeth asked and as she focused on Al, she never noticed how everyone looked at her in admiration. In return, Al looked downcast and sighed in defeat.

"All right, all right, you win. But promise me, as soon as you see the slightest change, you'll tell me?" he asked, and one would have to blind to not see the raw emotion in his eyes. Elizabeth smiled, and pulled him close to her, smoothing the hair on his head, as if trying to console a small child.

"Promise," she smiled, kissing his forehead and pushing him slightly in the direction of the castle and in Madame Parvati's direction. Elizabeth heaved a sigh and turned around just to see everyone looking at her. "What?" she asked, completely oblivious. James chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist from the back and kissing her temple.

"You honestly have no idea about the power of your words, do you?" he asked and Elizabeth twisted her neck to look at him in confusion. He chuckled once more and squeezed her a little, out of pure affection towards her. "Never mind. Come on...we have a creature to hunt down. No bastard gets away with hurting my little brother and his girlfriend," he spat, all care draining from his tone, and the fire in his eyes ignited once more.

Lysander smiled at them and wished he had someone who adored him just as Elizabeth adored James. In a way, the blonde was jealous of the eldest Potter. He had looks, charms, brains -somewhat-, and a girl who unconditionally loved him and would be everything he dreamed of. Unfortunately, the girl he wanted was too caught up with some guy who had just shown up randomly and stole her heart, when he had known her for practically his whole life and yet the best he could do was 'best guy friend'. Shaking his head, he knew that he loved Lily more than anyone could ever love a girl; he knew that he would rather be her best guy friend than nothing at all. He would put his life on the line if it meant that she was safe, though he would never admit this to anyone. Lysander wished he had the guts to just tell her, but he had missed his chance to tell her the moment she had laid eyes on Luke.

"Lysander?" a voice asked, and Lysander visibly jerked as his little brother called his name. Lysander sighed and shook his head, walking away from the crowd, trying to get his thoughts straight. Whenever it came to Lily, his mind got all jumbled, and he suddenly didn't care about right or wrong. Suddenly, Lysander knew where he was going and headed into the castle, making his way into the library.

* * *

Later that night, when everyone was asleep, a voice cackled in the secret passage that the Marauder's Map never showed. It was something that he was sure that no one had ever come across, and even if they did, then they had long abandoned this place. He ran his hair through his disheveled raven black hair and his tongue piercing clacked against his teeth as he tried to amuse himself waiting for his partner in crime. He sat down in his gray t-shirt and sweats against the brick wall. Impatient of waiting, he started to count the number of bricks on the wall opposite of him and when he finally got to 154, footsteps echoed the empty passageway. He smirked, noticing the look on his friend's face; whenever he got mad, things got _really_ fun.

"'Bout time you got here, don't you reckon mate?" he asked, his cocky voice ricocheted in the other boy's head and he grit his teeth to stop the anger from taking over him. "I heard about the Shannon girl," he continued, his smirk broadening. "So unfortunate, isn't it?" he asked, chuckling a bit. But to his surprise, a dark look crossed his face and he looked even more furious, if that was even possible.

"You promised they wouldn't get hurt!" he spat, anger rippling off his body and the boy with the tongue piercing merely cocked his eyebrow. "She could die!" he gasped as he choked off. His inner demon was dying to come out and it was all he could do to try to contain it. Swallowing hard a couple of times he turned to his friend and somewhat brother.

"Oh calm down. We'll just do what we always do, and she'll be fine. She won't even remember a thing," he brushed it off, which angered the other boy. "Oh dear, you might want to control your anger, or else someone's going to notice and the cat will be out of the bag before we can even say 'oh shit'," he smirked, his tongue piercing clanging against his teeth every time he talked. Suddenly his eyes turned yellow and he lunged at the other boy, and pushed him into the wall with inhuman strength.

"L-let me go," he wheezed as the other boy's hands closed around his neck and his eyes had become a brighter shade of yellow, while his pupils dilated into tiny beads so that all that was left were two yellow orbs with black dots in each eye. His teeth bared and the other boy struggled to breathe.

"You _really_ don't want to get angry, dear friend, because when you angry or upset, _I_ get angry, and we don't want that, do we?" he asked, his smirk broadening. The other boy wheezed and he gasped for air as the grasp on his neck was released. "Now then...where were we?" he asked, acting as if nothing had happened. Having no choice, the other boy followed.

* * *

**So hopefully you enjoyed little end excerpt about these anonymous people. I have huge plans for these characters as well as our awesome protagonists. Let's just say that they're all going to get hunted down and something's going to happen to someone. But I seriously can't tell cause I haven't decided yet. So in the meantime, just review please :)**

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